


Arkangel

by luta_comigo



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Inspired by Black Mirror, M/M, Oblivious Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Sonia Kaspbrak's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-02 22:27:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17272316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luta_comigo/pseuds/luta_comigo
Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak has never seen blood before. He's never seen a fight, or porn, or a dead animal, or even a dog. His overprotective mother put implants in her son, so she could control everything he saw. She knew when he had an asthma attack, she knew when his heart rate increased, she knew when he cried. She knew his location at any given time. She saw everything he saw, through a tablet screen.Black Mirror, Season 4, Episode 2: Arkangel AU





	Arkangel

Eddie Kaspbrak has never seen blood before. He's never seen a fight, or porn, or a dead animal, or even a dog.

His overprotective mother put implants in her son, so she could control everything he saw. She knew when he had an asthma attack, she knew when his heart rate increased, she knew when he cried. She knew his location at any given time. She saw everything he saw, through a tablet screen. 

Now, for a curious 5 year old boy, this implant might be an interesting way to keep him from getting hurt. But as Eddie grew older, he felt trapped.

When he entered middle school, he made some friends. One, a chubby boy named Ben, and the other, a four-eyed trashmouth named Richie. This Richie boy was a couple years older than him, and almost a head taller. He wore oversized glasses that made his eyes look twice the size they should be, Hawaiian shirts, and red converse. Eddie wanted a pair like his, but his mother informed him that high-tops give no support for his ankles, and his curved, feminine feet needed special padding or else he'd destroy his heels. Of course, he believed her nonsense. 

Every day at school, he'd hang out with Ben, and when lunch came around, he'd sit with Richie, smiling at the boy's jokes and running his fingers through Richie's thick black hair. Richie went red every time Eddie did such things, but the innocent boy couldn't understand why. 

Richie sometimes made dirty jokes. Ben told Eddie to just ignore them, but he really didn't have a choice. Every time Richie cussed, Eddie couldn't hear the swear word. That was another filter his mom had in effect. Eddie didn't understand it, and went through middle school, not comprehending the things kids said to him. He thought it made him safe from the verbal abuse of the older kids, but after he ignored their taunts, things turned physical. His mom would show up at the school just minutes after he's get hurt, which lead to more bullying.

 

Richie Tozier memorised Eddie's schedule. He'd watch from around corners to make sure he wasn't getting pushed around in the halls. If he was-- those boys would have all hell brought down on them after school. He didn't want Eddie to know about this, he was afraid Eddie might be afraid of him. Kids would come back to school with black eyes and bent noses, never bothering Eddie again. But if Eddie's innocent eyes fell upon the upperclassmen who smashed their faces in...Richie didn't want to think about it. 

Sitting down at his table for lunch, next to Stanley Uris and Beverly Marsh, Richie felt as if something was wrong. It was more than a minute until the bell rang for students to be in the lunch room, but Eddie was never this late. Richie stood back up in a panic, but Stan held him back. 

"You'll be late, Rich. Maybe your boyfriend's just in the bathroom." The Jewish boy said, but Richie tugged his arm away and ran off. The nearest bathroom was near the gym. He raced for it, but not because he didn't want to be late.

A small, tan boy laid bruised and bloodied on the bathroom floor. His short brown hair was sticking up, and his clothes were all torn and bloody. If Richie had seen the boys who'd caused this, he might've killed them. Richie knelt down beside the boy, cupping his cheeks in his hands. 

"E-eds, what happened?" His voice cracked as he carefully ran his fingers through the boy's hair. 

"T-the b-boys...I-I..." The boy seemed weak, and as Richie saw through his tattered shirt, he _was_ weak. He looked like meat at a butcher shop.

"Shh, Eddie... it's okay, I'm here..." Richie, in the heat of the moment, kissed the boy's lips. He knew Eddie's mom couldn't be looking at her tablet-- She was either busy, or speeding to school. But these cuts and bruises looked to take well over 10 minutes to make. Hell, he could've been sitting in here all last period. 

"T-thank you, Richie...I f-feel much b-better..." Richie winced after he kissed the boy, but when Eddie said that, he remembered how innocent this boy was. 10 years old and he didn't know what it meant to be kissed on the lips. 

Richie half-smiled, before carefully pulling off Eddie's pale yellow tee, that was now orange from blood in some parts, and ripped to shreds. Eddie's trembling upperbody was bruised beyond belief. It was as if 10 men had kicked him for hours on end. Richie wanted to cry.

Eddie didn't feel the pain anymore. He couldn't see what had happened to him. All he saw was Richie's freckled face and jet-black hair. He ran his fingers through the older boy's hair, before passing out. 

Richie panicked. He didn't even think to worry about how many alarms went off on Mrs. Kaspbrak's tablet. He pulled off his Hawaiian shirt, his tank top still underneath, and put it on Eddie. 

"It's gonna be alright," He kept saying, though he might've been talking to himself rather than Eddie. He ran out of the bathroom, Eddie in his arms. This frail boy must've weighed almost nothing, as Richie felt like he was carrying feathers.

Richie raced to the nurse, tears pooling in his eyes. "He's dying, he's dying!" He screamed, voice cracking like crazy. Despite the nurse being a trained professional, Richie couldn't seem to leave Eddie in her care. He held the boy tight and close, like a newborn baby. The nurse had to pry him out of Richie's grip. 

Richie was sent to The Office, where he had to explain everything that happened. Richie added as much detail as he could, through his sobs. He almost didn't skip over the kiss.

Sonia Kaspbrak barged into the Principal's Office, just minutes after Richie. She went to yell at the principal, but instead noticed Richie. 

"Are you the kid that beat up my baby boy?!" She screamed, and Richie flinched. The principal opened his mouth to say something, but Sonia kept on yelling. 

"N-no, M-mrs. K-k-kaspbrak..." Richie managed, somehow terrified of this fuming walrus that had just barely fit through the doorway. 

"Richard, here, had just saved his life." The principal said, though Richie hadn't finished his story yet. 

"A boy like this could never do good." Sonia growled, not backing off of the kid. "He probably saw my helpless little boy in the bathroom and RAPED HIM, while he cried." 

Richie was dumbfounded. He could barely speak a word to defend himself. 

Sonia held her tablet up for the principal to see. "It says here, his heart rate had slowed down after the incident, but as _this_ boy walked in, it went on the fritz. He might've raped him before as well!" Richie snuck a peak at the screen, but remembered Eddie's eyes were half-closed the entire time. She'd have seen almost none of it. 

"E-eds, what happened?" Richie heard his voice through the tablet. The principal was analysing it. After some more talking, he heard Eddie's voice, a clue that might lead them to think something differently. "T-thank you, Richie...I f-feel much b-better..." He saw the principal's face change when Richie pulled off Eddie's shirt, and Richie just wanted to crawl in a hole and die. 

"I was just trying to help him- I gave him my shirt instead..." 

"Mrs. Kaspbrak, I think you're taking this the wrong way. Richie and Eddie are very close friends from what I've seen. If I were you, I'd roll the tape back and see who  _really_ hurt your little boy." The principal backed Richie up for the first and last time of his life. 

 

The next week went by fast. Sonia Kaspbrak was forced to turn off the filters on her son's implant. The investigators claimed that if he had been able to see the cuts and bruises on his body, his immune system would be able to kick in faster, and his fight or flight response would've been able to protect him. She was forced to keep the tablet in a box in the attic, letting the battery drain. They confiscated the charger. 

Eddie lived a normal life from then on. He could hear the girls call him gay and the boys call him faggot. He didn't know what either meant, and to make matters worse, Richie wasn't there to tell him. Stan Uris told him everything.

Richie had found the boys who hurt Eddie. They got suspended, but that was the only punishment. Richie made them bleed. He left all three in a worse condition than they had left Eddie. In the heat of the moment, Richie felt that was necessary. Almost a year in juvy said otherwise. 

"S-so Richie's in jail?" Eddie asked Stan, his eyes melting the jew's heart. 

"Yeah...and his parents might be sending him to a different high school next year..."

"So I won't be able to see him again?" Eddie teared up, scared of losing one of his only friends. 

"Eddie...Richie loved you, okay? And he still loves you. There's no way in hell he'd get out of prison without immediately running back to your side." Stan smiled, placing a hand on Eddie's shoulder. 

"Thanks, Stan..." Eddie smiled, but couldn't help but cry as well. Richie was gone. His best friend, his protector, was gone. He wouldn't be able to see him for a year. A lot can change in a year. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you noticed that Eddie is out of character, it's because with this AU I'm working on, he needs to be more innocent. In the next chapter, both Richie and Eddie will be in character.


End file.
